The day the letter from U.A. comes in the mail, Takara immediately takes it to her room to open it. She locks the door, even though she knows Kei has his ear pressed against it to text their parents the play-by-play while they're at work. Takara breaks the wax seal.

Names are listed on the little holographic screen as the voice of Chemex explains that only the top 36 students will be accepted (along with four recommended students) into the first year heroics program. So Takara starts at the top and begins searching for her name.

She passes the top ten. Twenty.

34. Asako Ogawa

35. Iyashi Kan

36. Takara Juba

Takara's heart soars in her chest. She whoops for joy. Out of all the applicants clamoring to get into U.A., she was able to set herself apart and secure a place in her dream school.

The girl launches herself from her room and grabs her brother, spinning him around and around. "I got in!" she cheers. "I got in!" Kei mumbles something about pure luck as Takara leaps down the stairs and begins dancing around the house.

That evening, the Juba family has a large feast to celebrate the girl's accomplishment. Takara keeps imagining how high her name will climb on that leaderboard when she gets to U.A. When up is the only place to go, Takara knows she will soar ahead. Especially since school taught by heroes will be way more interesting than her current middle school.

She can barely contain her excitement, staying up late into the night thinking over designs for her hero costume and logo. Takara draws six different logos before deciding to send them all to the support company and letting them decide.

After her middle school graduation, Takara spends her entire winter vacation packing and getting ready for U.A. Her family makes a trip out of it to move her into the dorms before term starts.

The Heights Alliance was a new addition about five years prior. As villains and students both were growing more powerful, the principal thought it would be wise to create housing for students to keep them on campus and safe. This also helped keep costs down for students like Takara who would have had to rent an apartment by herself in town.

After the four hour road trip to Musutafu, Takara is ready to unpack and begin her hero education. Her parents shed a few tears as they drive away, their car much lighter, but the girl doesn't watch them go. Instead, she turns to the sprawling grounds, smiling at all the opportunities she will have here. The new phase of her life has begun, and she's ready to face it all on her own.

•°•☆•°•

"Moving in went smoothly?" Takara pauses, having been so focused on heading up to her room to unpack that she didn't realize there was a man laying on the couch until she was already walking past it.

He spoke with a thick Irish accent, his heritage even further confirmed by his auburn hair. It falls over his ruddy face in messy strands. His sunken aquamarine eyes gleam like shallow pools of water, though they are frames with heavy black eyeliner and a smattering of freckles. The rolled up sleeves of his dark shirt reveal countless tattoos peppering his pale skin.

She doesn't recognize him, but she was informed that Class 1-A's homeroom teacher would be new this year. "Yeah, pretty well," she replies.

Her silver eyes take in the rest of the man as he plants his intricately carved wooden cane and groans to his feet. She studies the intricate art on his arms and notices he has fur on his shirt. "Just call me Sensei McCaffery," he introduces himself, extending an inked hand. "I rather like the idea of being thought of as a sensei, you know?"

The girl finds herself smiling as she reciprocates the handshake. "Takara Juba. I'm looking forward to being in your class."

McCaffery cocks his head to the side, smiling ruefully. "I take it you don't know who I am?"

Heat rushes to Takara's face. "Not really, no," she admits.

"That's alright, most people don't," he responds quietly. Trundling past Takara, the man heads to the kitchen. His cane thuds on the floor as he passes, his right leg taking the majority of his weight. "You should get to work unpacking," he calls from the doorway, catching her eyes still on him. "Class starts early tomorrow. Tonight's your last night of freedom." With one last sideways smile, he disappears into the kitchen.

Takara hastily makes her way to the third floor, taking her teacher's words to heart. If she wants any time to relax before classes start, that would have to be tonight. Besides, she wants to get to know her classmates that she's passed in the hall.

•°•☆•°•

It's not too long before Takara has her room set up, and she knows it's the cleanest it'll ever be. All her clothes are hung in the closet, her attached bathroom—having only a toilet, sink, and some shelves—is organized, her bed is made, and her desk is covered with school supplies. She leaves her art bin at the foot of her bed with her easel set up next to it. After changing into clean clothes, she goes downstairs to meet her classmates.

The brunette breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing a recognizable head of curly black hair. "Morita!" Takara calls across the room, jogging into the living area where the tan girl is lounging with a couple others.

"Sup, Juba?" Morita inclines her head with a large smile. She moves her feet off the couch to make room for Takara. "Looks like we both made it in!"

"Of course we did," Takara responds confidently. "We made a great team!"

"Hell yeah, we did! But for right now, get comfy," Morita huffs, leaning back and tossing her black ringlets over her shoulder. "We're technically not allowed to leave campus tonight, so the teachers are hosting this big feast for the first years. Only problem is that they didn't communicate when exactly that would be, so they're setting that up now."

"It's so funny how you think the teachers are all these professional people, but they legit didn't agree on a time," a girl with long auburn hair says, sitting forward on the adjacent couch. She has large gold and silver butterfly wings that glimmer in a light that seems to emanate from within them. Long, rigid elf ears poke out from her intricate braid that trails down a shoulder and lays coiled in her lap. She wears a simple white t-shirt and skinny jeans, showing off her tall, lithe frame. "I'm Kaede Komatso, by the way! You can just call me Kaede; it's easier that way."

As Takara introduces herself to the assembled group, she sees exactly why this is. A girl sits next to Kaede with a paler version of the same coloring and large silver and black butterfly wings tucked behind her. Her blonde hair is kept up in a ballerina bun atop the crown of her head. She keeps her pale green eyes downturned as she fiddles with the cuff of her sleeve.

Upon noticing Takara's eyes on her, the girl looks up and gives a small smile. "Hi, I'm Aiya Komatso."

"Twins?" Takara asks, studying the sisters.

Kaede leans even further forward and puts her hand up to her mouth to stage-whisper, "I'm the fun one."

Aiya gapes, and her wings flare open, affronted. "Maybe by your standards," she refutes, eyebrows shooting up in a dare to prove her wrong.

The redhead rolls her eyes, but her smile remains in place. "Well, I'm hoping the teachers get the festivities started soon. I'm starving!" The other students nod their heads in agreement with the girl's proclamation.

Takara notices her stomach rumbling at the thought of food. "They can't take too much longer, right?" she reasons, trying to raise morale. "How long does it take to go get food anyway? And the pro hero Lunch Rush is on the staff! I'm sure he's whipping up a feast as we speak!"

As if right on cue, Sensei McCaffery throws the door open. He gestures outside, exclaiming, "Crack on, you lot! Dinner's not going to wait for you."

The students hop to their feet and rush out, Takara, Morita, Aiya, and Kaede among the first few beyond the door. The twins zip above the others, wings fluttering. It doesn't take long for them to find the many tables set up on the large lawn between the school and the dorms. Students are filing in from all the first year accommodations.

Thankfully for them, the line moves quickly, and they can all sit with their meals in a reasonable amount of time. Takara sits with her new classmates, Morita on her right, and the fairy-like twins sitting across from them. Conversation sparks about their process moving into the dorms.

"Yeah, we're both on the fifth floor," Kaede says before taking a bite of her onigiri.

"Fourth floor gang!" Morita exclaims, pointing down the table to a couple students who smile uncomfortably and look away. She tosses her hair over her shoulder without missing a beat. "They'll get used to me."

"I haven't met anyone else on the third floor yet," Takara realizes, looking around. Everybody else is caught up in their own conversations, but she figures she'll get to know them better as time goes on. "You guys have really pretty wings, by the way," she changes the subject, having been distracted by studying them.

"Thanks," Aiya says, giving a smile that makes her cheeks dimple.

"It's only part of our quirk, though," Kaede adds, and a knowing glint sparkles in her eyes. "But you'll have to wait 'till training to see the rest."

"I'm looking forward to it." The brunette looks around at all the assembled students. "It's sorta exciting not knowing anybody else's quirk, you know?"

"I mean, except for mine," Morita interjects, smirking.

Takara tilts her head in the girl's direction. "You've got a point there."

Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of pink. She turns to see the flowery woman from the entrance exam and nudges the girl beside her. "Is she a teacher here?"

"Oh yeah," Morita responds, halting the food on its way to her mouth. "I heard that all the teachers and a bunch of sidekicks from local hero agencies were acting as the zero point villains during the exam."

Before Takara can look away, the teacher makes eye contact with her. Her petals flounce as she struts over to the 1-A table.

"Hi dears," the woman says in her willowy voice. "I'm so glad to see you've made it in, and that you weren't hurt too badly. But you can understand I was just playing the part, right?" Her dark, bug-like eyes flick back and forth between the two girls.

Takara shrugs. "I'm fine, but you sandwiched me between two robots. Shouldn't you have checked that I'd be okay before something like that?" The twins' mouths fall open, appalled that a teacher would take the exam so far.

"Oh, petal," the teacher croons with an endearing smile. "You're going to be put through a lot worse in the hero program. My job was to make sure you could handle it. And here you are!"

The chestnut-haired girl nods, smiling tightly. "Here I am."

"Anyways, I'm the Class 1-B homeroom teacher, Rosebud," the hero introduces herself. "It's such a shame that you two weren't put in my class. It's a waste of talent for strong fighters like you to get stuck with the new teacher. Unfortunately, you'll be starting out at a disadvantage to 1-B."

Rosebud's eyes sparkle, and she folds her mantis hands in front of her. "But if you ever need someone who actually knows the ropes of this whole heroics thing, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I want you to get the best education you can. You made it here, after all. You deserve it!"

The teacher gives a smile that is positively saccharine and leaves the four girls to stare after her in various stages of shock.

"And she's a pro hero?" Aiya mumbles in dismay.

Kaede rolls her eyes. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the flowerbed."

Morita snickers. "Maybe, but she's nothing to mess with. Juba's lucky I got there when I did during the exams. Without a fire quirk, it would've been hard to escape her."

"Ooh!" Kaede squeals. "You can control fire‽ You're like Shoto!"

Takara considers the similarities that should have been right in front of her between her classmate and the pro hero. Then again, controlling fire is a common enough quirk that she isn't convinced the two are related.

"We're not as similar as you think," the black-haired girl protests. "See, where he can control fire, like shooting it at somebody, my quirk is just called 'Torch,' so all I can really do is set myself on fire. I can make the flame pretty big if I want, so you guys better watch out in training."

"I'll take that challenge," Kaede exclaims, slapping the table for emphasis. Takara smiles to herself, already enjoying the friendly rivalries that are blooming in their class.

Takara leans forward in her seat. "So if quirks are off the table, then why do you guys want to be heroes?"

"It's been something Aiya and I have always dreamt about," Kaede explains. "I mean sure, a lot of kids dream about it, but we were able to get actual training and work towards it our whole lives!"

"Same with me," Morita exclaims. "But I guess it started after I got my training. I was gonna be on the Japanese gymnastics team for the Olympics, but my coach suggested that with my quirk and background, I could be a pro hero! Which, mind you, gives me much better job security." She covers her mouth with a giggle.

Takara laughs alongside her. "It would have been cool to win a medal though."

Morita shrugs and waves a hand flippantly. "I wasn't in it for a medal; it's just something that I love. And competing professionally would let me keep it up for as long as I can. But I can still keep it up while in the hero course. It's great exercise, after all!"

"What's the coolest move you've done?" Aiya asks.

"I can show you some of the videos later."

"And what about hero work?" Kaede interjects. "What do you hope to do?"

"I'm going to aim for frontline fighting. Fire doesn't do great in enclosed spaces."

"I get that. We'll probably do more recovery work."

Aiya turns to Takara, cocking her head. "What about you?"

The girl rubs her hands on her pants. "Well, I haven't really decided on a path yet, but I've always got so hyped about the U.A. Sports Festival, I knew I was bound to be a hero one day."

"So you always knew you'd come here?" Kaede inquires.

"I've always hoped to."

"And hey, it worked out!" Morita cheers.

Takara beams. "It did! My little brother didn't think I would, but I knew I could!"

Kaede scoffs, and her wings bristle. "That's rude of him."

"But hey, what does Kei know? He's only twelve."

"Aww, Kei and Ta-kara," Aiya croons.

Takara smiles. "My parents call us Kei and Kara."

"Kei and Kara," Morita sing-songs. "He sounds annoying, though. But I still kinda wish I had a sibling."

"Enh, it's not that great," Aiya says, rolling her eyes. Kaede elbows her in the stomach, and they both giggle.

"Well, I just bet it'd be nice to have a friend around, you know?"

"Do you have any cousins or anything?"

Morita shakes her curly locks. "If I do, I don't know them. My parents moved here before I was born and took a new family name. I'd love to go back to Brazil and meet my family, but I wouldn't know how to find them."

"That's really awesome that you want to connect with your family. And sounds like a fun trip," Takara exclaims. "I've never been out of the country."

"Me neither," Morita says. "It's definitely on my bucket list."

Takara smiles at her new friends and considers, this really is the best place in the world.

Featured Character: Kaede Komatso
Quirk: Pixie
Likes: Sunshine

Featured Character: Aiya Komatso
Quirk: Pixie
Likes: Rain